


Slithered in From Eden

by peachesnmoons



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Ghost Hunters, I love drama and ghosts and sappy boys, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-09
Updated: 2016-07-09
Packaged: 2018-07-22 11:59:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,565
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7437802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peachesnmoons/pseuds/peachesnmoons
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>'“I’m Derek Nurse and this is Haus Hauntings.”</p>
<p>Dex tries very hard not to roll his eyes when he cuts the camera off. </p>
<p>They’re standing outside an abandoned, dilapidated college dormitory that does not look like it closed down about sixteen years ago. It looks ancient and rotting with boarded windows and graffiti covering about half of the building and Dex can’t help but wonder how they got the graffiti to go all the way from the ground to the third floor."</p>
<p>In which Nursey and Dex host a ghost hunting show and are in love with each other, but are more scared of acting on that than demonic sacrifices and meeting ghosts.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I am Ghost Adventures TRASH and have been listening to the Black Tapes podcast religiously, so my horrible mind started imagining the ghost hunting duo of William J Poindexter and Derek Malik Nurse, and it's safe to say I fell in love.
> 
> Title is adapted from "From Eden" by Hozier.
> 
> Say hi at alittlebittlethat.tumblr.com

 It’s fucking raining.

It’s overcast, it’s cold, it’s actually _really_ damp, and Dex just want to be in his bed and as far away as possible from here.

“I’m Derek Nurse and this is Haus Hauntings.”

Dex tries very hard not to roll his eyes when he cuts the camera off. They’re standing outside an abandoned, dilapidated college dormitory that does not look like it closed down about sixteen years ago. It looks ancient and rotting with boarded windows and graffiti covering about half of the building and Dex can’t help but wonder how they got the graffiti to go all the way from the ground to the third floor. 

“Can we do that introduction again? It felt way too forced if you ask me.”

Dex rounds back to the host of the ghost hunting television show that they both had the misery of starring in (or at least misery on Dex’s behalf) and sighs heavily.

“I didn't ask you. It's fine, Nursey. Besides, it’s getting late and Johnson needs to lock us in before he leaves,” Dex rubs at his temple with the hand not clutching at his camera. John Johnson, the current groundskeeper of the land the dormitory was resting on, casually chats on with Holster and Ransom off to the side where they’re all leaning against the tech van with a thermos of coffee between them. Dex tries and fails not to be jealous that they’ll be hanging out in the heated van while Nursey and Dex freeze their asses off chasing god-knows-what.

“Whatever, dude. Where’s Bitty?” Nursey turns and looks towards the parking lot off behind them. Dex takes a moment to stare at his co-hosts back and tries to tamp down the fluttering he feels deep (and we're talking _deep_ ) in his stomach. Derek Nurse has never wanted for anything in his life and it's obvious from his attitude to his clothes. He’s dressed casually in black jeans and a soft black sweater that probably costs more than Dex’s entire wardrobe put together. He looks slightly out of place at all their haunting sites and if someone caught him walking down the street and asked what he did for a living, “hosting for the channel’s number one ghost hunting show” is probably the last thing he looks like. But it seems to work and none of the viewers seem to mind how tight his sweater is and that he doesn’t look like some ghost-fanatic. Dex doesn’t mind either.

“Yo, Bits,” Nursey calls out snapping Dex out of his daze just in time to look down at his camera before Nursey can catch him staring. “Ready to present the stuff?”

“Coming!”

A shorter, blonde, warmly dressed man hops out of his car with a laptop under his arm and starts walking towards them reading something off his phone out loud. “Did you know a sorority used part of this building as their home?”

“Nope, but I imagine that’s why you’re here, eh?”

Dex turns and straightens up a little bit at the sound of their producer, Jack Zimmermann. Nursey catches Dex’s eyes and they share a shrug. Jack Zimmermann almost _never_ comes to sites, especially if they’re late at night. He runs multiple projects at the channel station and usually just communicates either through terse texts, angry phone calls, or through his assistant, Chowder.

Bitty snaps his head towards Jack and shakes his head smugly. “Well, if it isn’t our elusive producer. Can’t keep things in order from your warm, bright office, huh?” His southern drawl is teasing, but his eyes are gentle.

Jack stares at Bitty for a moment, who breaks eye contact and blushes lightly. Shrugging, Jack inclines his head back towards his car. “Brought Shitty down. He said he has a couple of things to say before you start tonight.” Behind him, a tall man with long hair and a mustache waves.

“Nursey! Dex!” At the sound of their names, they both turn and see Chowder, Jack’s assistant running excitedly towards them from Jack's car. “Jack said I could come inside with you guys tonight. Isn’t that ‘swawesome?” Dex turns to Nursey who meets his mischievous gaze with a wicked grin of his own. Chowder made the best ghost-bait.

“Yo, Shits. Tell us quickly what’s up, we’re getting off schedule,” Nursey says pointing at his watch.

The man with the mustache nods, “Yeah, brah. So, you’re not allowed to say the name of the college like officially,” Shitty uses air-quotes when he says officially and Bitty cocks his head.

“What do you mean?”

“Like, we can’t say that this dormitory belongs to Samwell before they moved campuses.”

Bitty frowns and turns to Jack. “What’s the point of researching everything on the college if we can’t say the name? Is it copyrighted or something?”

Jack sighs. “The college doesn’t want to be re-associated with all the scandals that caused them to close the campus.”

“That also means we can’t directly say our location either,” Shitty adds. Bitty worries his bottom lip with his teeth and his deep in thought when Shitty slaps him on the back. “Don’t let that bother you, Bits. Just say the region and cut out parts of your research that directly allude to the campus’ history and you’ll be fine.”

Dex checks his watch and frets at the hour. The sun is starting to set and they need to be locked in by nightfall so he gestures Bitty towards the dorm. “Just say everything you planned to Bitty, and we can edit it postproduction.”

They set up in front of the façade and Dex records Bitty’s introduction as the team researcher and a couple of sentences about the college. Samwell University was originally established in 1896 in western Massachusetts, but after a string of disappearances that were never solved and then there were the two sorority girls who were trampled to death during a rush event at the dormitory in 1997, the college closed the campus and moved east towards Boston to get away from the deaths and to expand further as a University. There had also been the rumor that the two girls, only referred to as Mandy and Jenny, had been trampled on purpose. Murdered.

Dex sent Bitty over to Ransom to get the rest of the research he compiled recorded on a voiceover in case any of the information becomes relevant after they finish filming. Nursey walks over and claps Dex on the back.

“You ready to lock ourselves in a dark, derelict haunted building for the third time this month?” He smiles and inclines his head towards the rotting dorm. Dex feels his flesh crawl at the thought of spending the next ten hours with Nursey, whether it’s secret delight or annoyance, Dex doesn’t know. At least Chowder and Lardo will be there. Speaking of which…

“Dude where’s Lardo? We can’t go in without her,” Dex cranes his head around Nursey to search the front yard.

“Chill, she’s on her way,” Nursey says in that ever-irritatingly _Nursey_ way he says things, like it’s no big deal. It makes Dex want to punch him. With his fists or lips, Dex hasn’t quite decided.

“Already here, losers.”

Larissa “Lardo” Duan saunters over from the parking lot looking magnificently unaffected by the fact that she’s standing outside a possible murder site. But that’s just Lardo; she probably already knows exactly what happened in that dorm and the last names of all the ghosts haunting it. She's dressed in all black, accented with a black leather jacket. Dex thinks a pointed witch's hat would really add to her look.

“Don’t think so hard, Dex. You’re bumming me out and I just got here,” Lardo intones, sharing a meaningful glance with him. Having a psychic/medium/probable witch on the team sucks, especially since she can vaguely read minds and already seems to know about Dex’s infatuation with Nursey.

“Aw he can’t help it, Lardo. Always thinking one step ahead, that’s our Dexy,” Nursey teases as he draws Lardo in for a one-armed hug. He winks at Dex and Dex can feel his ears heating up. “Anyway, so. The plan tonight is that Chowder’s gonna take the handheld camera and some equipment and follow Lardo around. Tonight’s less about using him as bait and more about seeing Lardo’s feel for the place, ya know?”

Dex and Lardo nod. Nursey dismisses him to go get equipment ready to take inside while Nursey continues droning on about the plan for Lardo’s psychic scoping out of the place. Chowder’s rummaging through the containers of recorders in the van with Holster when Dex finds them. Together, they pack a couple backpacks filled with EMF, motion and heat detectors, extra batteries, microphones, and a couple of extra items they can use to test and talk to the ghosts. Dex puts a first aid kit and flashlights in both bags since Nursey is a notorious klutz and will probably trip and stab himself on an old rusty nail or something.

“Dex? Y’all ready?” Bitty calls from the front door. Shouldering his backpack with a tripod carrier, Dex grabs his camera and meets back with Chowder at the group huddled in front.

John Johnson is swinging a set of keys and smiling at Nursey. “I know Dex isn’t excited about being locked inside for a couple of hours, but I’m glad you took my advice about Chowder and Lardo. I think Chowder’s positive energy with Lardo’s own psychic abilities will help keep them out of the way while you and Dex get down to business. Besides, have to separate you two from the group somehow to get the plot going!” He whistles cheerfully after that and everyone exchanges uneasy glances.

“Did you follow that?” Nursey whispers into Dex’s ear, breath tickling his cheek.

“Nope,” Dex replies and plasters a smile on his face while he shakes Johnson’s hand.

Jack and Shitty are standing off the side with their hands in their pockets looking exceptionally glad to not be a part of the group. Bitty suddenly gasps and runs back to his car only to return with a Tupperware container full of desserts.

“Thought y’all could use some sustenance while you’re locked in there! Made my famous mini-pies, cookies —yes they’re ghost shaped Chowder—, and a couple of slices of the various leftover pies and cakes from that graveyard episode we filmed two days ago.” Bitty hands Chowder the container and stacks a large thermos on top that Dex suspects is filled with coffee on top. “Please be careful, boys. I really need this job.” Bitty smiles before walking over to Jack to discuss what sounds like the full history of Samwell, with Shitty chiming in every once in a while chomping on what looks like a slice of Bitty’s blueberry pie that they all ate earlier in the day.

Dex records Johnson discussing how he’ll be locking them in from 7pm until the sun rises around 5am (“That should be plenty of time for you two,” he winks) where he’ll come back with Jack and they can clean up and finally leave.

Turning the camera towards the door, Nursey opens it and they enter the dormitory.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Copy that, Redbeard. Sharkboy and Raven are on their way up to third floor as we speak. Frankie over and out.” Dex begins setting up the tripod and tries not to imagine throttling Nursey before he speaks again.
> 
> “Nurse, do I even want to ask why is your codename is Frankie,” Dex asks tiredly as he screws a small camera onto the top of the tripod. He wasn’t sure what he was expecting, but the chuckle across the radio wasn’t it.
> 
> “Frankie says relax,” Dex’s radio croons, and yes, Dex decides that throttling Nursey is a great thing to imagine and an even greater thing to act upon.

It’s dark.

Dex switches to night vision and gestures for Chowder to do the same on his handheld camcorder that’s recording Dex and Nursey in case they miss anything. The front parlor of the dorm is musty and there’s a large hole in the floor near the fireplace at the far side of the room. Rotting couches and tattered rugs litter the floor and a broken coffee table blocks the staircase.

Nursey turns towards Lardo. “Alright, so I’m gonna give background on the house again. You and Chowder go film upstairs on the third floor where the trampling occurred and you can get your initial readings out of the way.” He turns toward Chowder, “C, makes sure you keep recording. Dex will set up a tripod upstairs where you’ll mainly be for the most part and a couple of motion sensors in the rooms down here that we’ve marked off with off-limits tape so you don’t go in and set them off. Use your walkie-talkies if anything strange happens and you want us to come check it out, kay?” Chowder nods and turns his camcorder around the room to get a better view of the place.

Checking his watch, Dex nods to Nursey. "It’s just past seven pm, so we’ll meet back here at ten and discuss what we’ve found. C and Lards, you’ve got the third and fourth floor. Nursey and I will take the basement, first and second floors, got it?”

Everyone nods and sets off. Dex hands Nursey the motion detectors to place in the bedrooms off the parlor with the caution tape on them, while Dex sets up tripods at the end of every long hallway on each floor. You can see everything that could possibly happen on the halls, and if any doors move or apparitions appear, Dex’s cameras will catch them.

There’s definitely a chill on the third floor landing when he gets up there, and he checks the thermometer. Downstairs on the second floor it had read at about 72֯F, but up here it’s fallen to almost 39֯F. Dex can see his breathe and he radios Nursey. “Definitely something up on the third floor. Temp readings are crazy. Gonna set up here and the last tripod on the fourth floor and come back down.” There’s no response and Dex sighs heavily. “Over,” he mutters into the radio.

Almost immediately, Nursey responds back. “Copy that, Redbeard. Sharkboy and Raven are on their way up to third floor as we speak. Frankie over and out.” Dex begins setting up the tripod and tries not to imagine throttling Nursey before he speaks again.

“Nurse, do I even want to ask why is your codename is Frankie,” Dex asks tiredly as he screws a small camera onto the top of the tripod. He wasn’t sure what he was expecting, but the chuckle across the radio wasn’t it.

“Frankie says relax,” Dex’s radio croons, and yes, Dex decides that throttling Nursey is a great thing to imagine and an even greater thing to act upon. There’s laughing over the radio, this time from Chowder.

“And Nursey says chill! I get it!!” Dex snorts and ignores the chirps traded back and forth over the radios while he goes to the fourth floor. It’s warmer up here than the third floor, so Nursey will definitely be interested in that.

Suddenly there’s a strong scent of cheap vodka and…Gap’s Dream perfume? Dex is pretty sure it’s the scent his sister wore religiously through middle school from the sacred bottle she kept in the bathroom drawer that she only touched for special occasions. Dex can feel the hairs on the back of his neck stand straight up and then he feels a sharp pinch.

Dex yelps and jumps about three feet before pounding down the stairs. Nursey is sitting cross-legged on the floor writing in a notepad with a flashlight in his mouth. He raises one eyebrow at Dex who is winded and pale as a sheet.

“Dude, I think a ghost just grabbed my ass,” Dex says with absolute conviction.

Nursey blinks and looks at the tripod set up at the end of the room before bursting into peals of laughter. He turns toward Dex’s large camera sitting on the tripod and ups his charm to TV-Ghost-Hunting Levels. “There you have it folks. First recorded contact with a ghost onsite, William J Poindexter has been goosed by a ghost.”

Dex rolls his eyes and picks his camera up off the tripod to screw in a smaller camera to record the room when they’re not in there. “Hilarious, really. I’d laugh too if I hadn’t just been sexually harassed by a damn sorority girl.”

Nursey narrows his eyes. “Could be a sorority girl, or it could be a demon.”

“What the fuck, Nurse.”

“Bitty called in to say that Jack gave him some pretty pertinent information out there. He came out tonight to tell us he talked to his mom, you know, Alicia Zimmermann? Did you know she went to Samwell?”

Dex shakes his head and frowns. “I didn’t, but assuming she went to school before Jack was born, she’d have gone to this campus right? Not the eastern Mass one?”

“Correct,” Nursey nods, “she told Jack about the campus legends. Supposedly back in the early 1940’s, there’d been some occult worshippers that lived in this house up on the third floor and they might’ve performed human sacrifices up there. Room 306? Could explain the strings of disappearances around that time. Get any weird vibes up there?”

Scoffing, Dex crossed his arms. “Ass grabbing weird vibes you mean? Unless they were some horny occult worshippers that praised butts, we’re probably fine. Besides, you really believe that myth? I doubt human sacrifices would happen in a campus dorm and not be reported on.”

“I dunno, man. Apparently it was in the middle of world war II, so it went overlooked.” Nursey shrugs and picks up his notepad. “Bitty looked up the student residence list and found the occupants of room 306 during 1943, when the summoning’s likely took place, and I wrote down their names if we want to try contacting them. They were both on the lacrosse team back then, Tyler Pierce and Bernard Matthews?”

“We could always try. When Lardo finishes her first reading, we can ask her what type of energies she feels.” Dex turns the camera away from Nursey, where it had been focused while he was talking about the occult, and pans slowly around the room taking in the scene. It’d been raining earlier in the evening, so Dex’s jeans were slightly damp and his windbreaker and flannel didn’t feel warm enough as the night got darker and colder. He shivers and pans the camera back to Nursey.

Standing in the middle of the parlor, not far from the gaping hole that revealed the empty pit that seemed to be the basement, Nursey holds an EMF detector flat in his hand. Dex walks over and zooms in on the screen. The needle bounces erratically from low to high and Nursey grins into the camera. “Seems we have someone hanging around the dorm that should have long gone towards death, huh Dex?” Nursey turns around and starts a slow path across the living room. Dex begins setting up various instruments that Nursey uses throughout the show.

Dex hears glass shatter and sighs. Why did he allow Nursey to touch anything, again?

They begin a series of tests that they run in almost every episode. They check temperature readings, EMF waves, take random pictures of different parts of the rooms. They settle down on the floor for a moment and sit in complete silence. They can hear some talking upstairs and the occasional creak of boards, but other than that it’s pitch black and dead silent. They decide to leave the basement for last, when it’s closer to daylight.

Nursey takes notes in his notebook about the temperatures and putters around the room checking various equipment readings while Dex films hallways and empty rooms filled with rusty furniture and peeled wallpaper. After about two hours and Chowder and Lardo are still upstairs, Dex turns the camera off to conserve battery and sits down on the floor.

Nursey follows suit with the Tupperware of desserts Bitty gave them. They open it and each eat one mini-pie. Dex eyes Nursey licking his fingers after finishing his pie and feels his eye heat up. Glad for the cover of darkness, Dex clears his throat and breaks the comfortable silence.

“So, Nursey. I never got the chance to ask, but how did you get into paranormal investigating?”

There’s a flash of white teeth as Nursey smiles at Dex. “Never thought you’d ask, dude. I’ve been into ghosts and the paranormal since I was about five years old. I wanna write a book about all the crazy shit I’ve seen since then.”

Dex thinks for a moment. “So, that’s like fifteen years.”

“Yup. My mom died right before I got into it.”

Dex cocks his head. Nursey never liked to talk about his parents. “I’m sorry, man.”

Nursey shrugged. “It’s chill. Every night though, I’d feel this warmth around me, like she was giving me a hug? It got me wondering about you know, life after death yadda yadda. My dad thought it was a waste of time, but honestly? I think he was secretly glad I had something to distract me. After that, he dropped me off with my aunties in Manhattan and I haven’t seen him since.”

Dex sat quietly for a moment. “Why are you telling me this.”

“I guess maybe I feel like we’re finally friends, Dex.” Nursey smiled and leaned back on his arms. “You couldn’t stand me when we first started last season. Now, it looks like you took my advice and took that stick out of your ass.”

“It’s still there. Want me to take it out and beat you with it?”

Laughing, Nursey sat up straight. “Aaaaaaand there’s the Dex I know and love.” Dex felt his face flush slightly and he smiled a bit.

“I did hate you at first.” Dex whispers into the dark. Nursey’s face is almost unreadable in the dark. Dex swallows thickly.

“And now?”

Running feet down the stairs startle both of them and Nursey and Dex jump to their feet. Dex powers the camera on to catch Chowder hurrying down the stairs, his face pale and covered in a sheen of cold sweat. “Come upstairs, NOW!”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The tinny voice of Nursey’s last question rings out. “What do you want? Are you unable to move on?”
> 
> In the long pause, there comes a low growling. Dex leans in closer to hear the recorder when there’s a sudden high-pitched scream that echoes across the hall.

Chowder runs back upstairs, not bothering to check if they’re even following.

Nursey springs towards the stairs fast as lightening and Dex sprints after him holding the camera steady as they fly up the two flights of stairs to the third floor where Chowder is crouched over Lardo who’s huddled against the wall with her eyes closed. They’re taking big, gulping breaths together in some sort of breathing exercise, and Dex looks across either side of the hallway to check —for what? A ghost standing off to the side? He doesn’t know— before crouching next to Lardo, making sure the shot includes both her, Nursey, and Chowder.

“Lardo, hey. Larissa. What happened?” Nursey asks quietly, one hand on her knee. She’s visibly shaken and she opens her eyes wide and points silently across the hall at a door.

Dex’s heart jumps into his throat when he sees the numbers 306 stamped on the top of the doorway and he shares a dark look with Nursey.

“What did you feel,” Dex asks.

“Something wrong. It’s…watching us. It's trying to get out.” Lardo shakes and wraps her arms around herself. Dex can feel himself sweating. If something has Lardo freaked out, it’s probably something deeply horrible.

“Let’s check it out,” Nursey says, voice impossibly calm. Dex stands and zooms in on Nursey as he slowly opens the door.

The inside of the room is a typical styled-dorm. Two metal bed frames, two desks, two chairs creating symmetry on either side of the room. The wallpaper is peeling down the walls and what used to be a window is broken in and bricks crumble down on the floor. The mattresses are what makes Dex’s skin crawl. One of them is ripped in half, stuffing and springs strewn across the room while the other sits against one of the desks with claw marks raking up and down.

“Woah,” Nursey breathes. Lardo comes in behind him and steels herself. Chowder records from outside the doorway, not coming inside and not even daring to breathe.

Lardo clears her throat and looks toward the camera. “I’m getting a malevolent energy from whoever last occupied…or still occupies this room. When I first entered the floor, I sensed a completely different energy. The other energy, or two I should say there was definitely two energies, was brighter and curious, but frightened. I’m going to guess those were the sorority girls. This though, is something else. Someone else is here with us.”

Nursey grabs his recorder from his belt and holds it out. “I’m going to ask some questions. If you’d like to answer them, just say what you want to say and when I’m done, I’ll play back the recording and we should be able to hear you.”

Dex takes a deep breath and pans around the room before zooming back in on Nursey and his recorder. In the background, you can see Lardo looking nervously around the room and Chowder in the hallway, his hand holding the camcorder out is shaking.

Nursey clears his throat and turns the recorder on. “Who are you?” He pauses for a long moment to allow whatever is there to answer. Dex feels the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Nursey must feel it too, because he scratches absently at his neck. “Why are you here?” Another lengthy pause. “What do you want? Are you unable to move on from this life?”

He stops the recording and Dex crowds closer to get the sounds clearly on his camera’s microphone. There’s nothing answering Nursey back during his pauses for the first two questions and then they hear it.

The tinny voice of Nursey’s last question rings out. “What do you want? Are you unable to move on from this life?”

In the long pause, there comes a low growling. Dex leans in closer to hear the recorder when there’s a sudden high-pitched scream from down the hall.

Chowder slams into the hallway wall just behind him in shock and turns to the other side of the hallway in search of whoever screamed. Lardo rubs her forehead and squeezes her eyes shut, while Dex and Nursey push past her into the hallway. It’s empty.

Their radios beep and Holster’s loud, panicked voice makes everyone jump. Outside, Holster and Bitty are watching all their cameras from the van while Ransom listens closely with headphones to their recordings. They call in if they hear or see anything the boys miss. “Hey, woah. There’s a dark shadow standing directly behind Dex.”

Dex doesn’t turn. His neck hairs are still standing up and he knows the camera down the hall must be able to see him perfectly. Nursey and Chowder turn slowly, their eyes big, but they exhale quickly and shake their heads at Dex. Nursey grabs his radio. “Is it still there? We can’t see anything.”

“Still there. Turn on the heat camera and point it at Dex.”

Chowder switches his camcorder’s setting quickly and gasps loudly. Nursey goes over and checks the viewfinder. Dex stays still and watches Nursey’s face pale.

“Dex, walk slowly over here. We need to make sure this isn’t your shadow.” Nursey slowly holds out a hand to Dex which he takes gratefully and lets himself be pulled forward, fear coursing through his veins.

Holster’s voice rings back. “Unless shadows are suddenly 10֯F, I don’t know what that is.”

Dex is now on Nursey’s left where Nursey’s arm is out in front of him protectively, as if he could shield Dex from the shadow figure.

Nursey speaks quietly into his radio. “It's shaped like a man, I think?”

Holster grunts. “Yeah, definitely human shaped. Bitty thinks it might be female, though.”

Bitty’s voice comes loud and clear. “Definitely female, actually. Unless it’s a male with a small waist to hip ratio.”

Nursey’s arms slowly came down and he grabbed for his recorder again. “Are you Mandy or Jenny?”

He paused and then stopped the recording to replay it. There’s a whisper of a voice after Nursey speaks, high-pitched and too quiet to make out exact words. Dex radios Ransom. “Hear that, Rans?”

Holster comes in through the radio again before Ransom can speak. “He’s going through one of his moods where ‘ghosts don’t exist’ and refuses to believe anything that’s happening right now.”

Ransom’s snort comes loud over the radio and makes Dex jump slightly. “I can still do my job, asshole.”

They wait a moment before Ransom speaks again. He sounds worried. “I can hear a female voice saying ‘they have Jenny’. Here I’ll play the enhanced audio.” He plays it and Dex can hear it as well. It’s very clear, and the words make his heart race.

Nursey’s brow furrows and he looks at Dex. “How can someone kidnap a ghost?”

Dex’s mind goes blank for a moment trying to comprehend. “What do you mean?”

“Jenny’s one of the sorority girls that was trampled. Obviously we’re talking to Mandy, and she’s saying someone _has_ Jenny. Kidnap? Ghost-nap?”

Chowder rubs his hand nervously across his chest. “It’s that scary voice we heard in that room.”

Lardo’s leaning against the doorframe and trains her eyes on Chowder. “Chow, what do you think that scary voice is?”

Chowder looks down at his shoe, tracing a path in the dust. “It sounds stupid, but honestly? It sounded kind of demonic. And that mattress, the one on the ground. I don’t think a normal human can rip those apart like that…”

Nursey and Dex share a subtle look and look down at the notebook sticking out of Nursey’s back pocket. Lardo nods her head in agreement with Chowder and walks down the hall a couple feet.

“Mandy…she’s scared. She’s the frightened energy I felt earlier. I thought I felt two, but I only feel one now.”

“That’s because they took Jenny.”

Dex watches Nursey’s eyes go as wide as saucers and he turns quickly and catches sight of something that makes his heart almost give out.

A slim, blonde woman floats about a foot off the ground. She’s extremely pale, her body is translucent. She’s dressed in shorts and a white tank top with a flannel tied around her waist. Her face is so sad that she could be crying. She’s standing about ten feet back from them, her arms wrapped around herself.

Dex steps forward cautiously and puts a hand out in surrender. “Who took Jenny?”

The woman sniffs and her eyes dart wildly around. She’s fading into nothingness and Dex hears a whisper of wind say, “the basement” before she’s gone.

A loud thump has Dex turning around and Chowder is now on the floor. Lardo skids over to him. “Chowder, dude.”

“Okay this has gotten out of hand,” Nursey says, his voice shaking slightly, “I think we need to regroup outside with the guys.”

Dex wrinkles his nose, but doesn’t say anything. Their hauntings have never been like this. They try to stay away from demons if possible—there was that one time in Connecticut that he doesn’t like to remember—and they’ve definitely never talked face-to-face with a ghost about demonic kidnappings. Maybe this was getting a little too crazy.

Chowder rouses fairly quickly, and Lardo assures him he hadn’t been out too long. He looks sick to his stomach, and Dex now agrees with Nursey; Chowder didn’t sign up for this and didn’t need to be locked in here all night.

“Let’s get out of here,” Nursey twitches his head towards the stairs and gives a hand to Chowder to pull him off the ground.

“All the windows downstairs are boarded up, and the door’s locked,” Lardo says, her face giving away no emotion, but Dex can see her eyes scanning the hallway with caution.

Dex thinks. “Some of the windows on the second floor are busted out. Maybe we can have Holster grab a ladder or help us climb down.” Nursey nods and radios Ransom and Holster. Chowder and Lardo lead the way down to the second floor into the hall bathroom with its cracked mirrors and vines growing up the walls.

Taking off his sweatshirt, Chowder wraps it carefully around his hand and punches with precision at the glass along the bottom of the broken window. After clearing away the glass, he dons his sweatshirt back on and looks out the window. There’s a ledge about six inches wide that they could step out onto and Chowder points out the window frames on the first floor can give a good foothold if you're tall enough. Holster walks up below the window and peers up at them, his face worried.

“No ladder in the van and I think it’s just past midnight, so I can’t go anywhere and buy one,” Ransom calls from the ground. He hums for a moment in thought. “Holster, go see how far you can reach up to the window.”

Holster apparently can reach high enough to grab Chowder’s ankles as he climbs out of the second floor window and climbs so his feet touch the first floor window frame. Jack is watching with Bitty, who’s hands are covering his eyes, just behind Holster as he struggles to help Chowder climb down the crumbling front of the house. Once Chowder is on the ground, Lardo steps out onto the ledge.

“Ransom, Holster,” She calls. The boys seem to understand exactly what she’s about to do and link arms. Lardo jumps gracefully backwards off the ledge and Nursey jolts towards the window. It’s almost as if she’d floated down with how softly she lands in Ransom and Holster’s arms. Dex thinks back to his earlier thought about her being a witch.

Nursey looks back towards Dex, cocks his head back towards the hallway and they nod in agreement, a silent conversation.

“Boys, are you coming?” Bitty calls from outside. Dex peers out the window with Nursey for a moment. Bitty’s looking up at the window worryingly and even Jack looks anxious.

Nursey shrugs. “Nope,” and walks out of the bathroom as an explosion of shouts echoes down from the ground. Dex follows him, without a second thought.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Through the fog in his head, Dex hears a loud crash and thundering before he succumbs to the darkness that has been lingering on the edges of his vision.
> 
> When he wakes up, the first thing he sees is Derek Nurse above him, his eyes worried and wide.

Back in the hallway, their radios are screaming as Jack and Ransom yell for them to come out. When Jack starts bellowing about calling Johnson to unlock the door, they both turn the walkies off. Dex shoulders the camera and points it towards Nursey. On cue, Nursey begins. “Let’s go check out that basement.” He grins wickedly and they start downstairs toward the parlor.

Dex grabs an equipment bag and starts gathering a couple of instruments to use downstairs when he notices the empty Tupperware container. “Nursey?”

“’Sup,” the other man said as he checked the viewfinder of the camcorder that Chowder had left behind.

“Did you finish Bitty’s desserts?”

Frowning, Nursey crosses over to where Dex is standing. He grabs the empty container and turns it over in his hands. “Wasn’t me. Probably some sort of animal in here ate them all, wouldn’t shock me if there are some rats eating mini-pies somewhere.”

Dex drops the subject and starts looking for the basement door as he hefts the camera back onto his shoulder.

There’s a small door hanging off its top hinges just off the to the left side of the staircase near the entrance to the kitchens. It’s pitch black all around and Dex takes his eye from the viewfinder to turn an ear toward the door. There’s indiscernible sounds coming from down the stairs, and Dex can feel his heart beating faster.

“What do you think is down-” Nursey’s cut off as an arm stretches out from the blackness of the kitchen entrance. A white hand claps his mouth shut and hauls him backwards. Dex thinks he hears himself scream. He drops the camera and grabs Nursey’s hand to pull him back when Nursey’s eyes go wide and he shakes his head violently. Something grabs Dex’s jacket and he’s thrown backwards, something cold and sharp digging at his throat. His head slams into the floor and there’s a skinny, greasy teenager straddling his chest with a long dagger held to his jugular.

The kid’s hair falls into his eyes and he huffs. “Scream again and I’ll gut you here and now.”

That’s how they end up shoved into the coat closet with rope tied around their wrists and ankles, all equipment taken from them.

“Fuck, fuck,” Nursey chants as he taps his head against the wall behind him. Dex is on his side facing Nursey’s thighs, and he squirms to try and free his hands.

The ropes are tight though, Dex can feel his circulation getting cut off, and he can’t manage to turn himself upright when he’s bound like this.

“Who the fuck are those kids?” Nursey whispers heatedly as he squirms in his binding as well.

“No clue, but did you see that dagger?” Dex asks.

Nursey rolls his eyes. “Yeah I saw it, pressed up against your—Christ, I thought he was gonna slit your throat, Will.” He sighs and tips his head back against the wall. Dex can see the expanse of his throat and watches as Nursey swallows and leans forward again to catch Dex’s gazw. Nursey’s eyes are wide with fear, and maybe it’s too dark in the closet for Dex to see right because it looks like Nursey is looking at his lips.

“Derek—” The door swings open and Dex is roughly grabbed by one of the teenagers. He’s hauled to his feet and pushed out of the closet toward a roaring fire that’s been started in the middle of the room.

There’s a large pentagram with a table in the middle just in front of the fire and strange symbols written on all the walls. To the side of the room, Dex sees something shimmering and almost falls over when he realizes it’s a girl. She’s a ghost like the one from upstairs, but this woman—Jenny, Dex remembers— is shorter with dark hair and almond shaped eyes. She’s crying and looks like she’s trying to scream, but Dex doesn’t hear her. The ghost is standing in a square made of chalk with more symbols all around it.

“What did you do?” Dex breathes. The two teens laugh sharply.

“Dumb bitch fell for a summoning spell right into a trap,” the one holding Dex says and he grins and Dex sees he’s missing some teeth.

“Who the fuck are you guys,” Nursey yells as he’s hauled out of the closet behind Dex into the basement. The teens look at each and the one holding Nursey nods ever so slightly.

“I heard you talking about our grandfathers while you were upstairs,” the teen holding Dex says and Dex can feel the dagger pressed back against his throat. Nursey yells something unintelligible and his punched in the stomach. He falls to his knees and coughs, and Dex feels himself start to shake in earnest.

“You’re Tyler Pierce and Bernard Matthews grandchildren?” Nursey wheezes.

“Great-grandchildren,” the taller one corrects behind Nursey. “I’m Jacob Pierce and that’s Michael Matthews.”

“And we’re going to finish what our great-grandfathers set out to do in the first place,” Michael says and pushes Dex forward towards the table.

“You're trying to summon that demon upstairs into the real world. That means the human sacrifices,” Nursey begins and then trails off, his face slowly draining of all color.

“See that’s where our grandfathers were wrong,” Jacob laughs. “You need two kinds of human sacrifices: living and dead.” He turns towards Dex and smiles menacingly before nodding his head at Nursey and speaking towards Michael. “Shoot him and let’s get this guy on the table.”

Nursey yells as Dex struggles to free his hands desperately. Jacob grabs his arm and Dex pulls back as hard as he can to lose his grip, but only manages to fall backwards with his ankles tied still. His head cracks against the concrete floor and there’s someone on his chest punching him hard in the face.

“Stop!” Nursey yells and Dex can feel blood flowing freely from his nose and he bites his tongue when the next punch is thrown. “Take me! Please, I’ll come quietly! I'll do anything!"

The punches stop and Dex turns hazily towards where Nursey is on his knees slowly inching his way towards Dex. Michael stands from where he’d been sitting on Dex’s chest and Dex turns on his side to spit blood out of his mouth. He hears Jacob muttering at Michael, but can't focus on anything but Nursey.

Nursey’s face is almost touching Dex’s as he crawls next to him. Dex’s vision has been reduced to tunnels and he feels like he’s watching from out of his own body when Nursey rests his forehead against Dex’s. They’re both breathing hard and Dex tries his hardest to stay awake as Nursey moves to press his head under Dex’s chin. His lips ghost Dex’s throat and his breath hitches slightly as he struggles still to breathe. Dex closes his eyes and feels Nursey’s weight get pulled off of him.

Dex’s head is pounding. He watches with barely open eyes as Nursey’s stripped and tied down to the table. The dagger that had been held to Dex’s throat earlier is gripped tight in Jacob’s hand as Michael begins chanting darkly in a foreign language moving closer towards Jenny’s ghost in the corner. Jenny begins banging on whatever invisible barrier is keeping her in place as she falls to her knees weakly.

The room grows colder—or maybe Dex is losing consciousness—and the fire seems to roar brighter as the shadows grow longer and darker. Jacob grips the blade of the dagger in his hand and drops of blood begin falling thickly on Nursey’s chest. Nursey’s eyes are trained on Dex as Jacob brings the blade high above Nursey’s chest, ready to stab it through his heart.

Through the fog in his head, Dex hears a loud crash and thundering before he succumbs to the darkness that has been lingering on the edges of his vision.

When he wakes up, the first thing he sees is Derek Nurse above him, his eyes worried and wide.

Dex groans and his mouth tastes like blood. There’s a hand stroking his cheek tenderly and Dex wants nothing more than to curl into it and go back to sleep. But there’s blue and red lights flashing and Dex lifts his head to look around. He’s lying in the grass outside the dorm, and the sun’s slowly rising behind them.

“Will,” Nursey whispers. Dex turns back to Nursey and opens his mouth to ask the million questions floating through his head.

“Nursey, the paramedics are here,” Dex hears Jack say softly and Nursey lingers for a moment above Dex. There’s a hand pulling his shoulder and then he’s gone and Dex is being poked and prodded by strangers with bandages.

He’s cleared by the medical team and is sitting on the bumper of the ambulance with a blanket draped around his shoulders, holding an icepack to his cheek. There’s a couple of cuts on his nose and forehead that have bandages on them, but Dex doesn’t notice the pain because honestly he’s just happy to be alive.

Alive.

They’d definitely both be dead if Nursey hadn’t offered himself instead of Dex which bought just enough time for Jack and Bitty to break down the front door and run to the basement to stop Jacob from stabbing Nursey.

“Lucky for me, I always carry a knife or two on me,” Bitty smiles as he tells Dex what he missed. Dex watches police lead Jacob Pierce and Michael Matthews into the back of a car in handcuffs, Jacob with a large knife sticking out of his arm. Dex turns back to Bitty who chuckles lightly, “Yep, always been a good shot.”

Shitty follows the policemen to their car, yelling about “first-degree attempted murder charges” and “lemme tell you kids. You’ll be fifty and bald by the time you’ll even be _considered_ for parole!” Lardo grabs his arm and he quiets. He grabs her into a hug and neither of them speak.

Nursey’s talking to an officer over by the house as Dex watches him. When Nursey sees Dex staring, he walks off midsentence as the officer attempts to call him back to no avail. Bitty quietly slips off as Nursey sits on the bumper next to Dex.

“You okay?” Nursey asks quietly, not breaking eye contact with Dex and he feels so warm right now.

Dex nods. “I’m fine, all things considered.”

“Good.” Nursey finally looks away from Dex and stares at his hands where they lay open on his thighs. “I really thought I was gonna lose you, Will.” Nursey’s voice cracks, but he continues. “Seeing you lying there, I just. I had to do something.”

Dex doesn’t say anything just watches Nursey struggle for words, something he rarely does.

Nursey swallows and finally meets Dex’s eyes. “I’d die for you, Will. Any day.”

The ice pack in Dex’s hand falls to the ground as he grabs Nursey’s shirt and hauls him toward him. He smashes his lips against Nursey’s and shuts his eyes tightly. There’s a hand on his tenderly cupping his cheek and an arm snakes around Dex’s waist and pulls him impossibly closer to Nursey.

He licks the seam of Dex’s lips and Nursey’s mouth is so hot, Dex feels like he might combust. After what feels like eternity, Dex pulls away and touches his forehead against Nursey’s, just breathing each other’s air.

He has all the time in the world to keep kissing Derek Nurse and that's totally fine with him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm nurseydex trash
> 
> talk to me about my dumb boys at alittlebittlethat.tumblr.com


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nursey sees something he wants bleached from his memory forever.
> 
> Dex decides not to let Bitty ever talk about houses ever again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> two little bonus bits i wrote to kind of tie things off!!
> 
> also: nursey calls dex babe all the damn time and dex secretly loves it i dont care fight me

Nursey’s looking for Jack. They could probably turn their footage in to postproduction and make a damn good episode out of the tapes, but would the channel even allow it to go on air? An actual demonic ritual with real ghosts and attempted murder seemed a little too much for the network, if you asked Nursey.

Jack’s not in the parking lot or in the van. His cars still here, so Nursey rounds the corner of the dorm and stops in shock.

Bitty’s legs are wrapped around Jack’s lower back. He’s backed against the side of the rotting building and clinging to Jack’s shoulders for dear life as Jack kisses him. Bitty moans and Nursey feels himself blush as he stumbles backwards and runs back to where Dex is talking to an officer.

Nope. Talking to Jack could wait. It could wait a loooooong time.

* * *

 

He’s done. They’re done. No more ghosts, demons, witches (well except for Lardo, Dex still has his suspicions), or locking themselves inside of haunted houses. Derek and Will are  _done_.

It’s been three years since the Samwell Haunting, as they refer to it, and Derek grabs a box from the moving truck to haul into the house that Will is still standing in front of.

“It’s just a house, Will,” Derek laughs as he checks Will lightly in passing. Will frowns and doesn’t move. Dropping the box off on the porch, Derek strides back over to Will and grabs his hand.

“Babe,” Derek says simply and presses a light kiss against his husband’s lips. Will’s finally pulled out of his daze and he smiles.

“It’s still weird,” Will sighs, but doesn’t drop Derek’s hand or his gaze.

“I know, but think of all the fun things we can do. This is _our_ place, Will. No more sharing with Chowder and Farmer! Besides, Jack helped us find this house and you know Bitty’d be disappointed if moved to far from them.”

Will presses his lips together in thought for a moment. “I still can’t believe we’re best friends with our former boss who _bought us a house as our wedding present_.” Scanning the house in front of them, Will sighs in defeat. “Jack does have great taste.”

Derek laughs. “I’ll sacrifice myself to a demon if Jack had anything to do with the house besides signing the check. The house is all Bitty, dude.”

Will pinches Derek’s arm. “Dude, still too soon.”

Rubbing his arm, Derek swoops forward to kiss Will’s cheek. “Sorry, babe. It’s been on my mind lately.”

Will walks backwards toward the moving truck and grabs a box. “Oh yeah. The publisher finally approved your rough draft for the book, right?”

Derek nods and helps take one side of the box, making sure to cover Will’s hand with his own. “Hopefully I can hash out the last couple of chapters on the Samwell Haunting before the month is over.”

“I am so glad we’re done with that.” Dex shakes his head.

“What? The ghost hunting?”

“If I ever meet another ghost, even in the afterlife, it’ll be too soon.”

Derek grabs the box from Will and smiles charmingly as he stacks it on top of the box already on the porch. “Don’t worry, I’ll protect you, scaredy-cat.” Will pokes him in the ribs.

They’re unpacking boxes in the kitchen when Derek’s phone rings. Bitty and Jack’s picture shows up and he smiles. “Yo! ‘Sup Mr. and Mr. Bittle!”

Will gestures for Derek to put the phone on speaker and then the room is filled with Bitty’s bright voice as he asks about how they like the house.

“It’s really nice, Bitty,” Will says. “Tell Jack thanks again for us.”

Bitty shushes him. “Honestly, Dex. It’s the least he can do, especially with y’alls last episode bringing the network into the spotlight.”

Derek straightens up and leans down toward the phone to talk. “Oh yeah. How’s his bird show going or whatever?”

“They’re falcons, and he loves it Nursey.” Bitty laughs.

“Hey, Bitty,” Will begins as he stacks plates carefully into a cabinet, “Not to be rude or anything, but were you gonna tell us something? We just talked on the phone earlier this morning.”

There’s silence over the line and Derek is about to ask if Bitty’s still there when there’s a nervous chuckle.

“So, Jack and I didn’t actually see this when we were looking at houses with you guys, but honestly we should’ve been paying attention! You’d think when helping your best friends look for their first home you’d consider that kind of thing, but it just slipped our minds and we didn’t really think about it until last night when the realtor called and—” He stops midsentence and sighs. “She said the former occupants have reported that the house is haunted.”

Will drops the spoons he’s holding and they crash onto the floor. Derek’s mouth hangs open and slowly closes his eyes and rubs his forehead tiredly. “What the actual fuck, Bits.”

“I’m sorry!! Jack looked it up and apparently the house was owned by this serial killer back in the 1970’s who buried his victims in the backyard,” Bitty babbles nervously over the phone as Will picks up the spoons. Will places the spoons in the sink and crosses the kitchen to the island where Derek is standing over the phone.

Will grabs the phone and takes it off speaker. “Bye, Bitty.” He hangs up and immediately begins dialing another number.

“Who are you calling?” Derek asks, still trying to process everything Bitty had just said.

“Lardo,” Will answers, his face exasperated, “if she can help Mandy and Jenny move on into the afterlife, maybe she can séance any ghosts out of our goddamn house.”

The empty box Will has just unpacked falls onto the floor, despite Will and Derek are almost six feet away from it. Derek turns towards Will. “Good thinking, Babe.”


End file.
